Aliens: Colonial Marines Polished Up By Fans

When it comes to games involving Sega in some capacity, it almost seems like the game itself isn’t the only thing players are paying for, but a whole new meta-game called, “Let’s improve the game through hacking through the game’s data.”

This new style of gameplay, which from here on we’ll call Tactical Debugging Action/Adventure™, has already drawn some talented programmers to sift through the game’s code on the PC version in an effort to enhance the game graphically and could potentially lead to repairing other issues such as enemy A.I. and other parameters.

One such find in a guide by Steam user adonys is that most graphics cards released after 2007 aren’t even listed in the game’s .ini files which alone can hamper the game’s performance visually. Tweaking the game a little can yield some dramatic changes in the game’s environs, such as fixing light mappings, as seen below.

The left shot showcases the game without lighting fixes, while the right features updated lighting. Several more comparisons can be seen in this thread on Gearbox’s forums. Adonys’ guide features pre-made files users can install to offer immediate improvements to the game. Those afraid of modding due to the possibility of a VAC ban need not worry. Much like Sonic Generations’ hacks with the PC version, the game doesn’t utilize Steam’s VAC functionality.

ACM, a Sega-published and Timegate/Gearbox-developed game was originally announced back in 2001 by Check Six Games for the PlayStation 2 and quietly canceled before being revived by Sega in 2006 after acquiring the Aliens license from 20th Century Fox. The original game and the current Gearbox version share little in common according to Gearbox.

Gene is the ghost of a Floridian who froze to death in a Chicago winter. He now haunts a server inside the Sears Tower and does terrible things on this very website. Also something about Sonic 2006 100% twice. It was awful.